Here is my problem, since i got the system (over 4 years now, i know its old, custom built from CyberpowerPC) it has had an interesting startup sequence. When i push the power button, the cd drives will start and test themselves (just spin themselves) about 3-4 times and then the actual boot process will start with the bios. It is interesting because i do computer troubleshooting, repairs and i even build computers, and i have never seen this behavour with another computer. Sometimes it would be stuck at the cd test part at the start and would not boot, all i would normally do is re-seat everything and it would normally work. But now it won't start at all, i took out everything, cleaned them, cleaned the mb, the case and put everything back in place and it still doesn't work. I think that the motherboard is faulty, but there is no way for me to test this atm, and since it is stuck at testing the cd drives i can't take out the memory and test if it will recognise the memory is missing. I have tried alternating memory and video cards, testing them individually but no change. I just want to get some other opinion from more experienced techs that might have encountered this odd boot process before. Thanks in advance for any help.

If disconnecting all of the hardware from the mobo didn't cause it to give a beep code, I hate to say it but it is more than likely bad mobo. The only thing you could do to rule out the hardware would be to put that hardware in another machine and see if it causes problems in that one.

Lol yep I did, I double checked all connectors cuz i tend to forget 1 or 2 when i hook things back together. But still its the same behavour it had before i took it apart and put it back together, so i don't think a connector was the original fault.

If disconnecting all of the hardware from the mobo didn't cause it to give a beep code, I hate to say it but it is more than likely bad mobo. The only thing you could do to rule out the hardware would be to put that hardware in another machine and see if it causes problems in that one.

Yep that is what I'm thinking, I think because of how it was behaving its been faulty for a long time but just continued to work through some miracle. But as it relates to beeps, when it was working and it did post tests it would beep when it passed the tests. But trying to troubleshoot this problem before i could never get a beep for missing memory or failure to boot or missing boot device beep, but it would normally work back fine. I was really interested to know if someone could explain to me why it booted the way it did, cuz that has always puzzled me.

I don't have access to another am2 board to test my hardware, so this makes it even more difficult to troubleshoot.

I agree with the majority, definitely sounds like a bad board if you can't even get to the point where you can enter the bios setup screens. But I thought I'd throw that out there since it's always best to follow the KISS standard when troubleshooting. :)

I agree with the majority, definitely sounds like a bad board if you can't even get to the point where you can enter the bios setup screens. But I thought I'd throw that out there since it's always best to follow the KISS standard when troubleshooting. :)

Yep, and sometimes its the simplest and stupidest things that have you scratching you head and leave you wanting to take a hammer and just put it out of YOUR misery lol. The interesting thing is though, I has always worked this way, but i never questioned it cuz it would work and i could always get it to work if it gave trouble.

If the CD drive is testing itself prior to the video card POST and the BIOS initialization then the only possibility for the initial power on test of the drive would be the internal firmware of the drive. That would be the only thing that could initiate a test of the drive prior to the BIOS taking control of the system. Once the BIOS has control of the system them it initiates all communication to the attached devices on the board.

Probably a bad board, but don't rule out the power supply. Just because it's giving enough juice to spin the fans(I'm assuming here), doesn't mean it's a "good" power supply.

If you take a motherboard down to nothing, not even RAM, and it doesn't at least give you a beep(make sure it actually has a speaker, some don't!), then it's more than likely the motherboard or the power supply.

If the CD drive is testing itself prior to the video card POST and the BIOS initialization then the only possibility for the initial power on test of the drive would be the internal firmware of the drive. That would be the only thing that could initiate a test of the drive prior to the BIOS taking control of the system. Once the BIOS has control of the system them it initiates all communication to the attached devices on the board.

Ok, that's interesting to know, and since the 2 optical drives are identical it would make more sense. But i had a 3rd lightscribe drive in for a few months, it would also do the same as the other 2 drives. What could be initialising these tests, optical firmware, mb, bios, any ideas?

Probably a bad board, but don't rule out the power supply. Just because it's giving enough juice to spin the fans(I'm assuming here), doesn't mean it's a "good" power supply.

If you take a motherboard down to nothing, not even RAM, and it doesn't at least give you a beep(make sure it actually has a speaker, some don't!), then it's more than likely the motherboard or the power supply.

It should be getting enough power, i haven't added any new hardware and it has worked with the same power supply for the past 4 years. Its 600 watt power supply btw, more than enough to power what i have in the system.

Ok, i'll try it with another power supply and stripping it down to see if i get a beep (it should have a speaker) when i get home from work, and c if it makes a difference, also i'll try resetting the cmos.

4 years is pretty good for a power supply. Definitely do not rule that out, but if the board was not getting sufficient power it could also have failed due to the power supply. I would buy a cheap power supply tester. You can usually purchase one for about $15 and add it to your tool kit. If your supply tests good then your only out $15, but if you have to buy a new one then your looking at another $60 and maybe still another board. But at least you'll have a shiny new tool to add to your collection and can charge a power supply diagnostic fee during your next troublshooting session for your next customer.

Probably a bad board, but don't rule out the power supply. Just because it's giving enough juice to spin the fans(I'm assuming here), doesn't mean it's a "good" power supply.

If you take a motherboard down to nothing, not even RAM, and it doesn't at least give you a beep(make sure it actually has a speaker, some don't!), then it's more than likely the motherboard or the power supply.

It should be getting enough power, i haven't added any new hardware and it has worked with the same power supply for the past 4 years. Its 600 watt power supply btw, more than enough to power what i have in the system.

"enough" isn't the problem. Power supplies go bad. More often than they used to, in fact. The wattage doesn't matter, necessarily. If all that mattered was wattage, power supply testers wouldn't show +/-0.1V+12V1/+5V/+3.3V/5VSB/+12V2/ -12V like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16899887005

It could still very well be a bad board, but the new power supplies are quirky because of all the new technology placed in them. Back in my early days of PC troubleshooting, if a power supply was bad, nothing would turn on, period.

I had a bad supply once that showed no signs of being bad other than the fact that it would break my RAID array that was being controlled by the motherhaords RAID controller about once every 3 months. I thought I had ran into a bad batch of hard drives until it happend the 4th time and then I got smart and replace the power supply. Hasn't happened since.